Branch cleanup expected to wind up this month

Sioux Falls work about 80% done

May 9, 2013

Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether announces the final pass through neighborhoods for branches will begin Monday, west of Minnesota Avenue, and May 20, east of Minnesota Avenue. He was speaking at a news conference Wednesday. / Elisha Page / Argus Leader

Arborist Wayne Taylor said he’s been cleaning up branches ever since in the city the April 9 storm.

“I’m not really tired, I just stay busy,” Taylor said. “We typically remove, cut up and dump five to six truck loads a day, it just depends.”

While there remains some work yet to be done, city officials said the clean up has gone quickly and efficiently.

Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether said the cleanup has exceeded his expectations.

“I told the people of Sioux Falls that this was going to take months, and potentially even years,” Huether said.

“I know this team very well, I’ve been working with them for three years, and nothing surprises me, with these women and these men and this town. We’re used to exceeding expectations, and we’ll continue doing that.”

Final Pass

Minnesota Avenue will serve as the boundary to divide the city into sections. The final pass of branch pickup west of Minnesota Avenue begins Monday. The final pass of branch pickup for neighborhoods east of Minnesota begins May 20. Property owners must have branches piled up and placed between the curb and sidewalk before crews begin cleanup.

Removal of branches after the final pass will be the responsibility of property owners or arborists doing the work.

Passes in each side of the city will take seven to 10 days.

Branches

City officials want residents to consolidate smaller branch piles into one or more larger pile with neighbors, if necessary. They also ask that large branches are cut into segments less than eight feet long. City officials are asking residents to bag smaller sticks and twigs and take them to the branch drop-off site.

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Do not put branches in bags and leave them on the curb, the city cannot pick up branches in bags.

Residents are asked to continue not to park in front of branch piles.

Work also will begin next week on clearing downed trees out of the Big Sioux River.Those efforts will take several weeks, Cotter said.

Calls for help

The HelpLine has received almost 3,000 calls since the storm, mostly requesting help or information about storm cleanup, said Janet Kittams-Lalley, director of HelpLine.

She said about 40 people remain on a list of those who require some assistance.

Anyone interested in helping with cleanup, or with need for help, is asked to call 211.

She said while calls have tapered off since its peak of more than 400 in the days following the storm, the HelpLine still receives about 100 calls a day seeking information on cleanup efforts.

Drop-off sites

Cotter said officials are gauging the use of the drop-off sites to determine when hours will be changed.

He said the drop-off sites will be open for at least the next two weeks.

Free tree/branch drop-off remain open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the City Street Department (1000 E. Chambers St.), the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds (North Lyon Boulevard), and on the corner of 69th Street and South Cliff Avenue. The Sioux Falls Landfill (26750 464th Avenue and County Highway 148) is open every day but Sunday.

Debris

Private contractors hired to clear and keep records of debris will stay on for at least another three weeks, Cotter said.

Cotter said an agreement with a contractor to grind up the estimated “tens of thousands of tons” of branch debris will be announced later this week. He estimates the grinding of the material could take up to six months.